Traveling over ground and imagination

Tag Archives: Asheville

This past week I went to North Carolina to babysit my nephews (11 and 6) while my parents were on a 14 day cruise and my brother had to work. I was a little nervous, but I have to say it went really well! Be assured…I did NOT just sit around eating bon-bons, as Mike would say.

Now, in all fairness 10 of those miles was on Saturday after I got home but 18 miles isn’t too bad! Just a quick breakdown:

Monday: Arboretum walk of about 6-7 miles (watch stopped working)

Tuesday: Hike around Table Rock Mountain and Linville Falls about 4 miles

Thursday: 8 miles on a stationary bike

I have quite a few pictures to share for Monday and Tuesday’s workout so I’ll have to do those in a different post. In the meantime, I can share some photos of my week at a glance!

Mike and I left Friday afternoon and headed toward my “vacation house” haha!

We reached our destination Saturday evening about 5PM. Since Daylight Saving Time hit Sunday morning, we didn’t really have to adjust to the Eastern Time Zone. Once we were home, however, was another story! Sunday the boys and I played with their toys then headed to the mall so Mike could watch football. Dakota is the oldest and Logan is the one looking on longingly at the plane.

Monday, I got up at 5:45 (so much for sleeping in!) and made sure the boys were up, fed, and at the bus stop on time. Once they were gone, Mike and I grabbed our workout gear and headed to the arboretum for what should have been an 8 mile walk. We looked around at the bonsai plants before hitting the trails.

I have to say, the bonsai exhibit makes me want to try to make one! The trail took us to Lake Powhatan. Since my watch broke I didn’t get an exact distance, but I think we only ended up going 6-7 miles (if I added the mileage right from all the signs).

We got home in time to get the kiddos from the bus stop and eat dinner. Day 1 down! Tuesday through Thursday the morning routine was always the same. Since my brother, Eddie, was off on Tuesday he was there to get them from the bus stop so Mike and I could go out to Table Rock Mountain. Since we missed the turn off, we ended up going to Linville Falls first, then found the turn for Table Rock on our way home.

Wednesday we went to Black Mountain to look around at the shops. I picked up another Carruth sculpture for my hallway! I love his sour face.

Thursday I rode the stationary bike while Mike ran his 4 miles on the treadmill. It was nice to get in a different type of workout than running/walking and weight training. Since it was our last day in Asheville, we decided to go downtown and walk around a bit. There were some gorgeous fall colors!

We looked at all of the art deco architecture and enjoyed some time at the Grove Arcade (the mall/apartment downtown).

Eddie was off on Friday, so we left Thursday night to ensure plenty of time to get home and pick the dogs up. Apparently, when the dogs are in the kennel they don’t sleep well. Ruby was passed out when she got home!

All in all, I enjoyed my time as a Mom for a week. That being said, a week was enough! I do miss the boys and can’t wait to see them again next year.

My second trip to the Biltmore’s Greenhouse was just as exciting as the first. Unfortunately, the flowers were out just yet in the outside garden, but the flowers indoors were beautiful! Since the pictures truly speak for themselves…

I’ve always had a fascination with cemeteries, especially old ones. As I walk through looking at the headstones I often wonder what they did in life, if family members still visit them, if they would be happy with the inscription on their tombstone. I know I’m not alone in this, as my family enjoys it as well. AND…if you’re thinking that my family is just weird, Edgar Lee Masters published a book (one of my favorites…not so oddly enough) basically written the by answering the same questions I ask myself. While visiting with my family in NC, we stopped by the Riverside Cemetery. Talk about gorgeous!

They have some beautiful mausoleums. Some have stained glass windows, others have items sitting on the stone tops (inside) as a tribute to the person. This was one that I thought was pretty because of the life growing around it.

Then, signs of Spring were popping up. There were these beautiful purple flowers sprouting up everywhere!

My Sister-in-Law and I agreed that things would be more interesting if people would put cause of death on the tombstones. We saw one that had the cause of death a railway crash.

We did see some interesting statements on the tombstones though. My favorite of which was:

There were soldiers from all different wars buried here. For example, there were a few from the Revolutionary War:

Some from the Spanish-American War:

There were also some famous North Carolinians that you may recognize. First was O. Henry (AKA Sydney Porter…think Gift of the Magi):

I’m not sure why people were putting pennies on his headstone, but I assume it probably has something to do with him being accused of embezzlement when he was a bookkeeper in Austin, TX (yes really…). However, it may have some other meaning as well.

The other famous writer was Thomas Wolfe. He has a couple of quotes from his works on his headstone. People put little rocks on top of his headstone as a tribute:

One of his more notable writings is Look Homeward, Angelwhich is an autobiographical account (although it is a fictional work, many of the characters are built on his family and his experiences in NC) of his life in Asheville, North Carolina and the death of his brother (who was only 26).

Since Thomas Wolfe was an Asheville native, his home is now a memorial site and for a dollar, you can tour his home. We drove by it but didn’t get a chance to do the tour.

The information center at Riverside Cemetery has a walk through tour print out that you can use as you look through the cemetery to learn about some of the other famous individuals there. Some of them are just famous North Carolinians and some are national figures. If you’re in the area, it’s worth stopping by and taking a look.

One of the things that I enjoy about Asheville, NC is the artist community. There are a ton of galleries and sites to see local artists’ works. My parents took me to the Downtown Market (which I think they just opened) during the week.

It’s a great place full of local artisans and their works. There are a few resale places and there was even a grocery section.

When you first walk in they have a “Barter tree!” I’ve never actually seen one of these, but I have heard of them. This one had all sorts of interesting things, including a pair of red high heels, an old 45 record, and finger nail clippers!

I wasn’t able to get many pictures of the different booths as many of the artists were a little protective of their work, which I understand. Many of them were working on their goods while we looked around. There was a gentleman that was making baskets, another guy making glass beaded neckalces and a lady hammering metal for her booth. I was able to get her picture, but she looked up just as I took it!

There weren’t that many vendors there, but that’s probably because it was a weekday. I would imagine on the weekends they have more. Everyone I talked to there were cheery and friendly. This will be on my list to visit again!